Inventory purchasing and procurement is the acquisition of goods and/or services at a specific total cost for use in manufacturing, resale, or other commercial endeavor for the benefit of the inventory purchaser. Direct procurement may occur in manufacturing or distribution settings and may include the acquisition of items that are part of finished products, such as raw material, components, and parts. Supply chain management, which may encompass procurement, is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers. Supply chain management spans the movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption. For a manufacturer or distributor of finished tangible products, managing the supply chain may include integration of key business processes across the supply chain for the purpose of controlling costs, adding value for customers and stakeholders, and increasing profitability. A supply chain may be a set of organizations linked by one or more of the upstream and downstream flows of products, services, finances, and information.